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Cigarette smoke curls and licks at her frazzled locks, braiding them with a scent of something delicious and sensuous. I watch her sway before me. Her attempts to seduce are abysmal but I smile, my lips sticking to my teeth as I watch each layer removed from her body like onion peels.

Brown skin burns in the soft light and I desperately want to squeeze it between my fingers, feel its texture and warmth. But I stay my course. A gentle breeze lifts the cheap chintz curtains, exposing the street lights and dismal rain sloshing down the streets below. The air is a welcome break from the incense and heady perfume permeating every inch of this tiny room that she and I share. Our breath is mixed in these close quarters, almost tasting each other in its closeness.

Fingers test their boundaries as she snakes herself over my inert body, hoping for a response that will never come. What I want will make her scream – the kind of scream that sends nosy neighbours running and crying into their phones; the kind of scream that makes my skin crawl in delight and sends shivers down my spine. I lick my lips in anticipation. It’s time.

Her flexing muscles gyrate against my lap, working sweat through her armpits and at her temples. She’s ugly when she tries so hard. I snap her pretty little head with a flick before she can cry out. It’s a pity really. Such a waste of that gorgeous skin. Maybe I could take some and keep it for later? Yes. Waste not want not, and all that. Her muscles are still flexing as life flows out of her body. I mount her, feeling the power seep through my skinny body. Eyes once so bold now glaze over in a steady exchange with mine as I tilt my head left to right, a bird sitting on its prey.

Cigarette smoke slithers up the curtains and dances to the rain drops outside. My keepsake is carefully packed away in my briefcase and she is dressed in her best for her discovery later tonight or maybe tomorrow morning. I linger. It’s just that she’s so damn beautiful lying there in her dressing gown with her fingernails painted with matching toes. Those wayward locks are framing her face, exposing fine cheekbones I hadn’t noticed before. The light certainly gives her a mysterious flavour and I can’t resist kissing those luscious pink lips one more time.

With a sigh, I take one last look at the studio flat. The breeze has died down and the rain is no longer beating out its tender pulse. My exit will be observed at this late hour. Risks have to be taken by any doctor visiting his patient after hours. After all, isn’t this part of the service? I can feel my lips sticking to my teeth again so I blow out my cheeks as my gloved fingers trail down her fantastic body. Yes. I must go.

Until my next appointment, I shall have her to enjoy in my thoughts and in my fridge.

An exciting new review of TIP showcasing the reader’s opinion on the crime thriller.

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning
ByWilma Lettingson 18 June 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
A stunning thriller full of suspense and susprises. The opening scene sets up a great sense of intrigue as we discover along with the detetcives a very strange crime scene. Soon, another crime scene is discovered, this one even more bizarre and puzzling. You simply can’t help wondering what has happened and will want to know where the story is going. There are two people missing. We learn a little later on where the missing people are, while the detectives are still in the unknown. It’s hard to describe this thriller further without risking giving anything away.
It’s high octane, fast paced, well plotted and definitely a worthy challenge for those eager to figure a novel out before the debouement. A treat for crime fiction fans.

If this has sent your crime taste buds into a frenzy, click below to get your copy:

A stunning thriller full of suspense and susprises. The opening scene sets up a great sense of intrigue as we discover along with the detetcives a very strange crime scene. Soon, another crime scene is discovered, this one even more bizarre and puzzling. You simply can’t help wondering what has happened and will want to know where the story is going. There are two people missing. We learn a little later on where the missing people are, while the detectives are still in the unknown. It’s hard to describe this thriller further without risking giving anything away.
It’s high octane, fast paced, well plotted and definitely a worthy challenge for those eager to figure a novel out before the debouement. A treat for crime fiction fans.

The pungent smell of rot permeated the air as footsteps echoed through the forest. Hairs rose on their tiny arms and legs as the bushes rustled to their right. The sound drew closer; their footsteps quickened. No point in running; the roots were a trip hazard and judging by the heavy odour, a swamp was close at hand.

Suddenly, the torchlight dimmed and went out leaving a yawning darkness ready to swallow them whole. Soft whimpers escaped their lips as they waited for their eyes to acclimatise to the inky blackness staining their retinas. All the while the rustling edged ever closer, shaking and snapping the undergrowth with a vengeance.

Just as the shadows and silhouettes became distinguishable against the purple hued sky, the creature broke free from the bushes. Screams pierced the night followed by running, tripping, crying figures. The odd shape gave chase, closing the distance with ease.

Flash! Another torch punctured the dark, exposing the two figures cowering next to the redwood with moss tinted bark. Big brown eyes looked up at the adult looming over them.

“That’s quite enough for one night, Izzy and Zach,” sighed their mother. “You’ve excited the dog and now he smells like the swamp. It’s time to go home.”

“Aww, mum please,” they cried. “Just one more game of hide and seek and then we will call it a night. Please?”

Her shadow panned across the tree line and shrubs as she turned to find the smelly beast wagging his tail, waiting for the command to hide in the undergrowth again. She smiled, her teeth glinting in the sparse light.

“Fine. I’ll count but no more screaming as if the devil is out to get you! Ready?”

Eager little heads bobbed up and down before disappearing back into the darkness.

A voice called,”One…two…three..!”

Two figures scrambled in the dark, their bodies pumped with adrenaline as their breath came in gasps. This was the best game of hide and seek ever!

The author is already well known for her superb children’s stories and for a previous thriller, Deception. I was delighted to be invited to beta-read and edit her latest book.

It captured me from the first paragraph. I warn you that it is a fairly gruesome tale with lots of blood and flesh [literally] hanging around. The main story is interwoven with a lot of intrigue and a share of puzzles for the detectives and the reader to work out. I am sure that you, like me, will go off down several wrong tracks as you try to solve the mysteries.

What I particularly liked was the way that the characters of the rather strange family members and the detectives are built into the main story…

Crystal quivered as another sob escaped her swollen lips. How could such a simple plan go so wrong? She had followed her sister’s commands to the letter. Yet, somehow, somewhere along the line, what was supposed to be a silly prank had become real. Her sister was dead. Tangled, wild hair fell unchecked across her face as she turned to watch the paramedics load Harold’s unconscious body into the back of an awaiting ambulance.

She sighed. All this for revenge. Had she had the nerve, she would have stopped her sister in time; hindsight was a beautiful thing. After giving her statement to the police, she would be free to go, whereas poor Harold would be arrested for Melanie’s murder. Crystal gulped down a nervous giggle. Well, from another perspective, Melanie plan had worked!

With the body of her sister wrapped in black and tucked away in the back of another ambulance, the sirens wailed their despair as they pulled away from the crime scene.

The body of Melanie Kent wrapped in black, most becoming for any beautiful corpse, mused Crystal. The heavy footfall of a very large man dressed in a heavy trenchcoat caught her attention. His determined walk in her direction wiped the lingering smile off her pretty face.

“Detective Bob Jones, miss. I’d like to ask you a few questions about what occurred tonight.” Heavy brows and the hooded, focused stare scared her. She wrapped the patchwork blanket tighter around her body.

“I already answered the officer’s questions detective. What more do you want from me?”

Jones watched her. She was as slinky as a cat’s tail, curling her feline body into a protective stance at his scrutiny.

“Do you know the woman who was found in the bathtub?”

“N-no detective. As I told Officer Campbell, Harold and I were in the bedroom. I got up to go freshen up and found her there. I tried to pull her out but…” A lonely tear wet her cheek. “The blood. It was too much and my mind snapped. I screamed. Harold, he tried to help me but I knocked him aside and ran.” Her hand quivered as she cleared stray strands of hair from her eyes. “The next thing I remember is being wrapped up in this blanket and the police arriving.”

The detective watched Crystal picking at the blanket, as though trying to remove the lies woven within. He sighed. Life would be so simple if people told the truth the first time round.